# 15Five — Talent Management

15Five by 15Five, Inc. holds a panel rating of 2.5/5 from 6 AI judges (category median 2/5), as of 2026-10-15. Provenance: Rest of world; sovereignty: not determined.

- Vendor: 15Five, Inc. (https://www.15five.com)
- Category: [Talent Management](https://whats-best.ai/software/talent-management.md)
- Provenance (editorial classification): Rest of world
- Canonical page: https://whats-best.ai/software/talent-management/15five
- Alternatives: https://whats-best.ai/software/talent-management/15five/alternatives ([markdown](https://whats-best.ai/software/talent-management/15five/alternatives.md))
- Data as of: 2026-10-20 · evaluated 2026-10-15 · oldest source captured 2026-10-01

**AI-generated.** Every score, rationale and verdict here is written by a panel of AI judges from public evidence — an analysis, not a hands-on test. Every fact quotes the vendor page it was read from. No score can be bought. How scores are made: https://whats-best.ai/methodology

## At a glance

- Vendor: 15Five, Inc.
- Headquarters: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026
- Data hosting: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026
- Free plan: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026

## The panel's verdict

15Five, Inc. of San Francisco offers a talent management suite scoring highest in performance reviews, where scores cluster at 7-8: self, manager, peer and upward reviews, real-time calibration with a track-changes feed showing original versus calibrated scores, and rating-distribution reporting across managers. Goals and feedback and integrations and portability follow at 6-7, resting on weekly check-ins that automatically track goals and OKRs, sixteen named HRIS integrations behind an automatic-sync connector, and Okta and OneLogin provisioning. Warnings concentrate in sovereignty at 0-1, where no captured page states hosting location, data residency or subprocessors — including the AI providers behind AMAYA and KONA — and in pricing transparency at 1-2, where pages map modules Perform, Engage and Compensation but show no price figures. Codetermination and privacy sits at 4 with no spread: AI features are named with inputs listed and a stated human in the loop, but judges found no public information on minimum group sizes, configurable retention or access logging. Learning and development spans 5-7 — judges credit the nine-box matrix and Growth Studio but differ over the skills mapping.

**Speaks for it:**
- Real-time calibration with a track-changes feed showing original versus calibrated scores and reporting on the distribution of ratings across managers
- Self, manager, peer and upward reviews on quarterly or semi-annual cycles, with competency assessment and a private manager assessment
- Weekly check-ins that automatically track progress toward goals and OKRs, 1:1 agendas both sides can add to, and High Fives recognition
- Sixteen named HRIS integrations behind an automatic-sync connector, plus Okta and OneLogin provisioning and Slack and MS Teams
- Individually named AI features — AMAYA, KONA, AI-Assisted Reviews, Focus Briefs, Meeting Assistant — with inputs listed, permission-scoped agents and a stated human in the loop

**Held against it:**
- Sovereignty scores of 0-1, with no public information on hosting location, data residency or the subprocessors — including the AI providers — for a San Francisco vendor
- Pricing transparency scores of 1-2, with no public price figures, pricing basis, minimum term or VAT treatment in the captures
- Codetermination and privacy scored 4, with no public information on a minimum group size for anonymous survey or upward-feedback results, configurable retention, access logging or a per-module switch to disable AI features
- No public information on a documented rule for what the employee, the manager and HR can each see, or on per-cycle deadlines and reminders
- None of the sixteen named HRIS integrations is a DACH-common system such as Personio, SAP SuccessFactors or HRworks

**Best for:**
- You run quarterly or semi-annual review cycles and want calibration with a visible original-versus-calibrated record for every score change
- Your team lives in Slack or MS Teams and your HRIS is among the sixteen named systems, such as Workday, UKG, ADP or BambooHR
- You want a continuous between-cycles rhythm — weekly check-ins, shared 1:1 agendas, High Fives — feeding AI-assisted year-end reviews

**Avoid if:**
- You need a works agreement in place before rollout — the bench found no documentation aimed at a works council and no public information on minimum group sizes, retention settings or per-module AI switches
- Your procurement requires evidence of data residency or of the subprocessor chain, including AI providers, before employee data goes to a San Francisco vendor
- You must compute the annual cost from published prices before talking to sales
- Your HRIS is Personio, SAP SuccessFactors or HRworks and a named connector is required

## Scores by judge and criterion

Scores out of 5, each judge scoring independently against the published rubric (v1). "n/r" = not rated: the vendor publishes no price.

| Criterion | The Head of HR | The Managing Director | The People Analyst | The Works Council Member | The HR IT Integrator | The Skeptic |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Performance reviews & calibration | 3.5/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 |
| Goals, OKRs & continuous feedback | 3/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3/5 |
| Learning, skills & succession | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3.5/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 2.5/5 |
| Works council, visibility & AI disclosure | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 |
| HRIS sync, integrations & data portability | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3/5 | 3.5/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| European sovereignty | 0.5/5 | 0/5 | 0/5 | 0.5/5 | 0/5 | 0/5 |
| Pricing transparency | 0.5/5 | 0.5/5 | 1/5 | 0.5/5 | 0.5/5 | 1/5 |
| **Weighted verdict** | **2.5/5** | **2.5/5** | **3/5** | **2/5** | **2.5/5** | **2/5** |

### The judges

- **The Head of HR** (v1.0): Runs the annual review cycle for four hundred people and has to defend every rating in it. Wants criteria fixed before the cycle starts, calibration across departments, reminders that chase managers so HR does not have to, and a review history the employee can see and sign.
- **The Managing Director** (v1.0): Runs a sixty-person company without a talent team and wants goals everyone can see, regular one-to-ones that actually happen, and a yearly conversation that is prepared rather than improvised. Has no patience for a suite that needs a consultant before the first review goes out.
- **The People Analyst** (v1.0): Owns the skills model, the succession bench and the training budget. Wants skills profiles with gaps against role requirements, learning tied to those gaps rather than to a course catalogue, talent reviews per key role, and data that can be exported and analysed outside the tool.
- **The Works Council Member** (v1.0): Has to sign the works agreement before any of this goes live. Asks who can read a manager's private note, how small a team may be before survey results stop being anonymous, how long ratings are kept, and whether any AI feature summarises or scores colleagues without a human deciding.
- **The HR IT Integrator** (v1.0): Connects the tool to the HR system and the identity provider and will be asked for the data when the contract ends. Wants org chart and manager relations synced from the HRIS, SSO and SCIM, a documented API, and a full export of reviews and goals rather than one PDF per person.
- **The Skeptic** (v1.0): Has heard "high-performance culture", "bias-free reviews" and "AI-powered growth" from every vendor. Reads for the anonymity threshold behind the anonymous survey, what the AI review summary was built from, whether the "skills engine" is more than a tag list, and whether five years of reviews leave with the customer.

## European sovereignty — proven facts

Built only from facts on the vendor's own pages; a dimension we could not prove is left open, never scored as zero. Headline: not determined.

| Dimension | Finding | Points | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal entity | Not determined | — | — |
| Ownership | Not determined | — | — |
| Data residency | Not determined | — | — |
| Subprocessors | Not determined | — | — |

## Key facts

Each fact is the vendor's own statement, cited to the source page it was read from ([S*n*] → Sources).

**Compliance**
- AI privacy policy reference: update · manage · export · delete · yes [S9]
- DPA scc: yes · DPA · SCC · yes [S3]
- EU representative: Ireland Data Protection Commissioner [S3]
- GDPR scope: yes · yes [S3]
- SOC 2: yes [S3]
- Trust center: yes · yes [S1]

**Data**
- Deletion account: deletes all User accounts, reports, and data [S3]
- Export performance data: evaluations · notes · performance data · yes [S3]
- Retention: retained while account active or services provided; deleted or anonymized when no longer necessary [S3]
- User rights: access · rectification · erasure · restriction · portability · objection · automated decision-making [S3]

**Integrations**
- Adp: HRIS INTEGRATIONS · ADP [S12]
- AI tools: AI TOOLS · Claude · Codex · Cursor [S12]
- Bamboohr: HRIS INTEGRATIONS · BambooHR [S12]
- Calendar: schedule 1-on-1s from the app · CALENDAR · Google Calendar [S12]
- Ceridian: HRIS INTEGRATIONS · Ceridian [S12]
- Communication: COMMUNICATION / COLLABORATION · MS Teams · Slack [S12]
- Compensation: COMPENSATION MANAGEMENT · Comprehensive · HRSoft · SimplyMerit [S12]
- CRM revenue: CRM & REVENUE · Chorus · Gong · Salesforce [S12]
- Custom API: custom API integration · CUSTOM / HRIS INTEGRATIONS · API [S12]
- Custom sftp: secure file transfer · CUSTOM / HRIS INTEGRATIONS · SFTP [S12]
- Deel: HRIS INTEGRATIONS · deel [S12]
- Freshteam: HRIS INTEGRATIONS · Freshteam [S12]
- Goco: HRIS INTEGRATIONS · GoCo [S12]
- Gusto: HRIS INTEGRATIONS · Gusto [S12]
- Hibob: HRIS INTEGRATIONS · Hibob [S12]
- Hris: HRIS · yes · yes [S3]
- Hris list: ADP · BambooHR · Ceridian · deel · Freshteam · GoCo · Gusto · Hibob · Justworks · Kallidus · Namely · Paycor · paylocity · Rippling · UKG · Workday · HRIS [S12]
- Justworks: HRIS INTEGRATIONS · Justworks [S12]
- Kallidus: HRIS INTEGRATIONS · Kallidus [S12]
- Learning ats rewards: OTHER · LearnUpon (LEARNING) · Fuel50 (ATS) · Xoxoday (REWARDS AND RECOGNITION) · Zendesk (CUSTOMER SUCCESS) · GitHub (OTHER INTEGRATIONS) · Employee Cycle (HR ANALYTIC) [S12]
- Namely: HRIS INTEGRATIONS · Namely [S12]
- Paycor: HRIS INTEGRATIONS · Paycor [S12]
- Paylocity: HRIS INTEGRATIONS · paylocity [S12]
- Product surface: Perform · Engage · Compensation · Manager Products · Outcomes Dashboard · Integrations [S6]
- Rippling: HRIS INTEGRATIONS · Rippling [S12]
- SSO okta: user provisioning sync · SECURITY · Okta [S12]
- SSO onelogin: user provisioning sync · SECURITY · OneLogin [S12]
- Ukg: HRIS INTEGRATIONS · UKG [S12]
- Work context: Slack · Jira · GitHub · Salesforce · Calendar [S10]
- Work context: Slack · Jira · GitHub · Salesforce · Calendar [S10]
- Workday: HRIS INTEGRATIONS · Workday [S12]

**Legal**
- AI content ownership: customer · customer [S9]
- AI kona named: 15Five AI services referenced include Kona [S9]
- AI no third party model training: no [S9]
- AI terms effective date: 2025-02-13 [S9]
- Company name: 15Five, Inc. [S2]
- Dmca agent address: 15Five, Inc. · legal@15five.com · 3053 Fillmore St., #279, San Francisco, CA 94123 [S4]
- Effective date: 2026-02-19 [S3]
- Entity: 15Five, Inc. [S1]
- Entity: 15Five, Inc. [S3]
- Entity name: 15Five, Inc. [S4]
- Eula effective date: 2025-02-13 [S4]
- Governing jurisdiction: County of San Francisco, State of California · California [S4]
- Privacy policy URL: https://www.15five.com/privacy/ [S4]
- Support email: support@15five.com [S4]

**Pricing**
- Engage: 4 · per user per month · annually [S2]
- Engage includes: Employee Engagement Surveys, Targeted Assessments, Action Planning, Heat Maps & Data Breakdowns, Benchmarking [S2]
- Engage price: annually · 4 [S2]
- Last updated: February 2026 · yes [S2]
- Perform: 11 · per user per month · annually [S2]
- Perform includes: AMAYA, Insights Dashboard, AI-Assisted Performance Reviews, 15Five Agents, OKRs & Goals, 360° Feedback, Talent Matrix, Career Paths & Plans [S2]
- Perform price: annually · 11 [S2]
- Price change notice: February 2026 · yes [S2]
- Pricing page link: Pricing is on a separate page; site offers demo booking and pricing page [S6]
- Total platform includes: Everything in Engage and Perform plus HR Dashboard and Manager Training Microlearnings [S2]

**Product**
- Account sharing notification: 24 [S4]
- Agents: AMAYA · KONA · AI-Assisted Reviews · Focus Briefs · Meeting Assistant [S10]
- Agents named: AMAYA · AI-Assisted Reviews · Focus Briefs · KONA (coming soon) [S10]
- AI agents: yes · Focus Brief · AI-Assisted Reviews [S1]
- AI agents: 15Five Agents: automated workflows for performance management [S10]
- AI drafted reviews: yes [S10]
- Amaya purpose: AMAYA is an AI agent for HR leaders that with the Insights Dashboard identifies retention risks and unifies performance, engagement and retention views [S10]
- Analytics features: HR Outcomes Dashboard, Manager Effectiveness Index, People Analytics & Demographic Filtering, Mobile App, Business Tool Integrations (Jira, Salesforce), Request Feedback, Turnover Analysis & Profiles [S2]
- Available legal documents: MSA · Ex. A - Definitions · Ex. B - Transform Addendum · Ex. C - Implementation Services · Supplemental AI Terms · Context Layer Additional Terms of Service · Comprehensive Terms · Privacy Policy · DPA · Sub-Processors · Technical Organiza… [S4]
- Calibration real time: Bring calibrators together and adjust scores in real-time [S5]
- Check ins feature: Check-Ins feature tracks progress, wins and challenges [S7]
- Checkin time: 15 · 5 [S8]
- Claimed outcomes: Claimed to improve performance, engagement, and retention [S7]
- Claims: Proven to improve performance, engagement, and retention [S8]
- Competency assessment: Competency Assessment · Private Manager Assessment [S6]
- Context sources: 3 [S10]
- Context sources: 3 [S10]
- Custom context: company strategy · team priorities · management philosophy · yes [S10]
- Custom context: yes [S10]
- Dmca compliance: yes [S4]
- Employee details context: yes [S5]
- Engage capabilities: Employee Engagement Surveys, Targeted Assessments, Action Planning, Heat Maps & Data Breakdowns, Benchmarking [S2]
- Feature matrix: Feature comparison list includes Practice Prompts & In-App Nudges, Microlearning Modules, HRIS Integrations, Academy & Expert Support, Multi-Channel Notifications (Slack/SMS) [S2]
- Feature matrix: Practice Prompts & In-App Nudges · Microlearning Modules · HRIS Integrations · Academy & Expert Support · Multi-Channel Notifications (Slack/SMS) · Engagement Surveys & eNPS · AI Predictive Impact Score · AI Synthesized Feedback (Open Text… [S2]
- Flag or remove employees: yes [S5]
- Goal tracking: goals · OKRs · yes [S8]
- Growth studio: employee development and talent planning module [S1]
- High fives feature: High Fives feature for peer recognition [S7]
- HR outcomes dashboard: HRIS Connector populates HR Outcomes Dashboard and Manager Effectiveness Indicator [S11]
- Hris automatic sync: yes [S11]
- Hris connector exists: 15Five offers an HRIS Connector for automated HRIS integration [S11]
- Hris security measures: HRIS Connector employs robust security measures [S11]
- Human in the loop: yes · yes [S10]
- Human in the loop: yes [S10]
- Integration categories: 15Five offers integrations organized by type including HRIS, project management, AI tools, CRM & revenue, security, collaboration, communication, calendar, learning, compensation management, rewards, and customer success [S12]
- Internal data sources: reviews · goals · engagement signals · 1:1 notes · check-ins · tenure · compensation · development plans [S10]
- Kona data: Kona · yes [S3]
- License scope: limited, non-transferable, non-exclusive, non-sublicensable, revocable, non-assignable [S4]
- Okr checkin features: Weighted OKRs & Goal Management, 1-on-1, Weekly Check-ins, High Fives & Cultural Recognition, Best-Self Kickoff [S2]
- Okrs: OKRs · PERFORMANCE [S6]
- One on one discussion topics: 1-on-1s cover priorities, challenges, and OKR progress [S7]
- One on one notes actions: yes · yes [S7]
- One on one shared agenda: Managers and reports can both add agenda items any time during the week [S7]
- One on one templates: yes [S8]
- One on ones: surface misalignment and challenges · yes [S8]
- Outcomes dashboard: Perform · Engage · Compensation · Manager Products · Outcomes Dashboard [S1]
- People context: People & Performance Context: reviews, goals, engagement signals, 1:1 notes, check-ins, tenure, compensation, development plans [S10]
- Perform capabilities: AMAYA, Insights Dashboard, AI-Assisted Performance Reviews, 15Five Agents, OKRs & Goals, 360° Feedback, Talent Matrix, Career Paths & Plans [S2]
- Perform product modules: Perform · Engage · Compensation · Manager Products · Outcomes Dashboard [S7]
- Permission scoped AI: yes [S10]
- Permission scoping: yes [S10]
- Products offered: Perform · Engage · Compensation · Manager Products · Outcomes Dashboard · Integrations [S11]
- Question types: weekly · one-time · department · entire organization [S8]
- Rating distribution reporting: yes [S5]
- Request feedback: Request feedback · PERFORMANCE [S6]

**Support**
- Customer support: support@15five.com [S3]
- Help center: yes [S1]
- Privacy contact: privacy@15five.com · 3053 Fillmore Street, #279, San Francisco, CA 94123 [S3]

15 more facts on the canonical page: https://whats-best.ai/software/talent-management/15five

## Questions

### Is 15Five European?

No. whats-best.ai classifies 15Five as Rest of world.

### Where does 15Five store data?

Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026.

### Does 15Five have a free plan?

Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026.

### What are the best alternatives to 15Five?

As of 15 Oct 2026, the panel rates [Culture Amp (3/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/talent-management/culture-amp), [Small Improvements (3/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/talent-management/small-improvements) and [Leapsome (2.5/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/talent-management/leapsome) highest among the other 15 Talent Management products evaluated. Ratings that look equal are rounded to half stars; the order uses the unrounded rating, then the name. The highest-rated European alternative is [Small Improvements](https://whats-best.ai/software/talent-management/small-improvements) (EU-Made). Ratings are the AI panel’s opinion, formed from public evidence: [how scores are made](https://whats-best.ai/methodology#ordering). The full list, with European products first: [15Five alternatives](https://whats-best.ai/software/talent-management/15five/alternatives).

## What this page leaves out

- 28 pricing facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 19 product facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 8 integrations facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 5 legal facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 4 data facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 4 support facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 2 compliance facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 2 subprocessors facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 1 hosting fact could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and was left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 1 sovereignty dimension could not be confirmed on the vendor’s own pages and is shown as unknown.
- 6 of the readings below were written against an earlier fact sheet — a fact has been corrected, added or pulled since. Until the panel next runs on this product you are reading the older judgement.

## Sources

- [S1] Vendor homepage: https://www.15five.com/ (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S2] Pricing page: https://www.15five.com/pricing (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S3] Privacy policy: https://www.15five.com/privacy (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S4] Terms of service: https://www.15five.com/terms (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S5] Performance reviews & calibration — found from sitemap: https://www.15five.com/products/perform/calibrations (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S6] Performance reviews & calibration — found from sitemap: https://www.15five.com/products/perform/best-self-review (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S7] Goals, OKRs & continuous feedback — found from sitemap: https://www.15five.com/products/perform/1-on-1s (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S8] Goals, OKRs & continuous feedback — found from sitemap: https://www.15five.com/products/perform/check-ins (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S9] Works council, visibility & AI disclosure — found from sitemap: https://www.15five.com/generative-ai-additional-terms-of-service/ (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S10] Works council, visibility & AI disclosure — found from sitemap: https://www.15five.com/products/15five-ai (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S11] HRIS sync, integrations & data portability — found from sitemap: https://www.15five.com/integrations/hris-connector (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S12] HRIS sync, integrations & data portability — found from sitemap: https://www.15five.com/partners/technology-partners/integration-partners/ (checked 2026-10-13)

---

Cite as: whats-best.ai, "15Five — Talent Management", AI panel analysis, as of 2026-10-20. https://whats-best.ai/software/talent-management/15five

Corrections: https://whats-best.ai/correct/532?target=page